The Morning Filter

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Sarah Hansen unpack a very bumpy week in the markets, from a dramatic selloff in AI-linked names and an ongoing rotation from growth to value to a huge rally in the Treasury market. They cover what to watch for in upcoming earnings reports from Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and more. They also recap a busy week of earnings and new research on SpaceX SPCX, Meta META, and Tesla TSLA. 

They answer a viewer question about Morningstar’s star ratings for stocks, and Dave explains how to...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Sarah Hansen recap last week’s market activity, including the rotation out of growth stocks and how hotter-than-expected inflation data contributed to another spike in Treasury yields. They unpack what the market is now pricing in when it comes to monetary policy and economic growth.  

They also cover what to watch in upcoming earnings reports from Meta, Telsa, Western Digital and Nebius Group NBIS, and discuss the key takeaways from Progressive PGR and ASML, and Schwab SCHW after earnings. 

Tune in for a dee...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, host Dave Sekera sits down with Morningstar Chief Economist Preston Caldwell to discuss their market and economic outlooks heading into the end of 2026. Tune in to find out why stock selection is becoming increasingly important, what valuations are signaling to investors, and how to position your portfolios as market risks continue to build. 

They unpack expectations for economic growth, inflation, and interest rates and discuss how the artificial intelligence boom is affecting the economy. They close by talking about mega-cap stocks, what’s behind the rise in bond yie...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Sarah Hansen cover why the stock market has been resilient even as interest rates continue to rise in the United States and abroad.  

They look ahead to inflation data and big bank earnings next week. They cover what to watch for in ASML’s upcoming earnings report, and discuss why Morningstar raised its fair value estimate on chipmaker Marvell to $360.  

They answer a viewer’s question about the barbell strategy as it relates to undervalued tech stocks, and dig into Dave’s list of fi...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski recap September’s market activity and discuss what types of stocks to invest in—and avoid—heading into October. Tune in to find out which earnings reports to watch for this week and why Morningstar cut its fair value estimate on Micron Technology by $150 after earnings. 

They share new Morningstar research about McCormick and Carnival and answer viewer questions about former stock pick Clorox. They close the show with three stocks to sell and three stocks to buy in October. 

Episode...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski weigh the impact that rising yields and lower oil prices had on the stock market last week. They look ahead to this week’s inflation and jobs reports, and cover what to watch for in the earnings reports from triple-digit-club member Micron Technology as well as Nike and McCormick. They share key takeaways from Costco’s COST and Darden Restaurants’ DRI results. And they provide updates on former stock picks Lennar and Berkshire Hathaway; tune in to find out which of the two is the be...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Dave Sekera sits down with senior analyst William Kerwin to talk about Broadcom. They unpack the company’s three key business buckets—XPUs, networking chips, and software—and break down the company’s relationships with major customers like Alphabet, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta Platforms META. They also discuss the mix shift of AI spending over time, what that shift will mean for Broadcom’s business, and how Broadcom stacks up against its competitors. 

Tune in to hear Morningstar’s forecasts for Broadcom’s revenue, earnings, cash flow, and margins, wh...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss last week’s market highlights, including the Fed’s interest-rate hike and the 10-year Treasury yield’s push above 5%, and debate how much longer the current bout of market uncertainty may last. They explain why to keep an eye on Costco and Darden Restaurants this week. And they review several former stock picks after earnings and reveal which remain stocks to buy today. 

Tune in for a deeper dive into one of last week’s stock picks, Tesla. The show wraps with a fe...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss whether the market is really undervalued and what risks investors need to keep on radar. They preview this week’s Fed meeting and some key earnings, too. Tune in to find out if cybersecurity’s Palo Alto Networks or Zscaler are buys after earnings, what to make of Ciena’s CIEN stock slump, and whether Medtronic and Amphenol remain stock picks after their recent rallies.  

They answer a viewer question about the pros and cons of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as a way to...

Plus, whether Nvidia, Marvell Technology or Salesforce look attractive after earnings.

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski share what really mattered in the market last week (hint: Nvidia). They give an update on the prospects of cybersecurity stocks after Okta OKTA and CrowdStrike CRWD put up great results and before Zscaler ZS and Palo Alto Networks PANW report this week. 

Tune in find out what to watch for in the earnings from Broadcom AVGO and Lululemon LULU and whether Nvidia, Salesforce CRM or Marvell Technology MRVL l...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss last week’s market activity and what to make of the surging yield on the 30-year Treasury bond. They cover what to watch for in the earnings reports from Nvidia, Marvell Technology, and Salesforce CRM. Tune in to find out whether Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target or Walmart look like stocks to buy after earnings.

They explain why it’s better to rent some stocks rather than buy them for the long term and discuss what qualities to-rent stocks often share. They c...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss August’s market activity and weigh what last week’s encouraging inflation numbers may mean for the Fed’s next move. They cover what to watch for in the earnings reports from Walmart WMT, Target TGT, Home Depot HD, Lowe’s LOW and other retailers this week. Tune in to find out whether Cisco or Applied Materials looks attractive after earnings, if Nebius Group is overvalued after a fair value increase, and why we continue to like On Holding.

They welcome special...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss last week’s market activity and why investors should continue to monitor the Japanese yen. Special guest and Morningstar Europe market strategist Michael Field covers why European equities are lagging US stocks this year, which sectors and stocks in the region look most attractive, and what risks US investors who want to invest in international stocks should watch out for. 

Sekera and Dziubinski reveal whether Advanced Micro Devices, Palantir and Clorox remain stock picks after earnings and if SanDisk and Western Dig...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, host Susan Dziubinski covers the key takeaways from last week’s Fed meeting (and hint, there weren’t many). It will probably be another volatile week for SpaceX stock—and earnings aren’t the only reason why. This week we’ll also get earnings reports and forecasts from a few members of the triple digit club, including Advanced Micro Devices AMD, SanDisk SNDK and Western Digital WDC. 

Dziubinski discusses what Morningstar’s analysts thought of the latest earnings reports from Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, Apple and Seagate Technology ST...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what today’s oil prices may mean for the economy and the market. They explain why this week’s Fed meeting may be a nonevent and how to think about quarterly earnings reports when you’re investing for the long term. They preview upcoming earnings reports for Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon.com and Apple and debate how long the good times will continue to roll for Seagate Technology STX. 

They cover whether Tesla is a buy on its post-earnings pullback, what the key...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski are joined by Morningstar chief economist Preston Caldwell. They discuss their market and economic outlooks for the remainder of 2026. Tune in to find out what drove first half performance and what second half risks to watch out for. Small cap stocks continue to look attractive from a valuation perspective even after their recent run-up, but what sectors are undervalued today?

They unpack expectations for economic growth, inflation, and interest rates for the remainder of 2026 and discuss what impact AI is having on...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what last week’s better-than-expected inflation readings may mean for Fed policy this year. They preview earnings for Alphabet, Tesla, and Intel, and explain why to keep an eye out for results from Charles Schwab SCHW and Blackstone BX, too. They unpack results from Taiwan Semiconductor and AMSL, discuss the huge selloffs in IBM IBM and SpaceX, and cover PayPal’s PYPL potential buyout.

Tune in to find out if a growth-and-value barbell is still the best way to structure a port...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski talk dividend stock investing. They unpack the performance of dividend stocks during the first half of 2026, including how the performance of dividend stocks stacked up against that of the broad market and which sectors drove the performance. 

They also suggest how income investors can screen for dividend stocks, focusing on key metrics like valuation and competitive advantages, not just high yield. They close with 10 dividend stock picks to invest in today.

Episode Highlights 

00:00:00 Welcome

00:01:48 Dividend Stock Per...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss which economic reports to watch this week. Earnings season kicks off with the big banks reporting; tune in to find out what to listen for. Both ASML ASML and Taiwan Semiconductor TSM report this week, too, providing investors with an early read into what to expect from semiconductor and AI companies in the weeks ahead. They cover whether Johnson & Johnson JNJ stock is attractive ahead of earnings and if Nike’s stock is a buy after. 

They unpack what Meta Platforms’ move...

n this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss last week’s wild ride for tech stocks and whether further pullbacks are likely. They talk oil prices, inflation, and what the Fed’s next move may be. Tune in to find out which company earnings reports to have on your radar this week and whether Micron is a buy after its blowout earnings report.

Adobe and Lululemon are both having terrible years; Are these stocks value traps or opportunities today? As June comes to an end, they wrap the show with...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Susan Dziubinski previews this week’s PCE numbers and explains why to watch the upcoming earnings reports from Micron Technology, FedEx FDX and Carnival CCL. She sits down with Morningstar senior technology stock analyst Will Kerwin to talk all things Apple, including the strength of the company’s economic moat, its AI strategy, the biggest risks it’s facing today, and what the stock is actually worth.

They also discuss the challenges of valuing AI companies while so much is still unknown and whether investors should be willin...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss core stocks. These are the types of stocks that should form the foundation that an equity investor can build upon. They unpack the qualities that core stocks share and whether investors should be willing to pay higher valuations for these high-quality stocks.

There’s a better strategy for managing your core stock holdings than buy and hold; tune in to find out what the strategy is. They wrap the episode with a handful of great core stocks to own when you ca...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski preview the SpaceX IPO with Morningstar analyst Nic Owens. They discuss the company’s economic moat rating, forecasts for revenue and margins, and why SpaceX is worth less than half its IPO target.

They also cover what this week’s inflation reports could mean for the Fed meeting later this month and whether Palo Alto PANW, Crowdstrike CRWD or Broadcom AVGO look attractive after earnings. Tune in to find out if Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B is still a buy after its purchase of T...

In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski cover what’s going on with oil prices, interest rates, and bonds today. They recap the stock market’s winners and losers from May and update the barbell stock portfolio strategy for June. Tune in to find out what to look for in this week’s earnings reports from Palo Alto Networks PANW, CrowdStrike CRWD and Broadcom AVGO and whether Nvidia NVDA, Marvell Technology MRVL, or Salesforce CRM look like stocks to buy after earnings.

They answer a viewer question about a wide-m...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Dave Sekera and Morningstar senior equity analyst Dan Romanoff take a deep dive into one of Sekera’s top stock picks: Microsoft MSFT. Microsoft isn’t just a software company; it’s a portfolio of businesses, and Sekera and Romanoff discuss the company’s individual segments. They cover why Microsoft remains a wide moat company in the face of AI disruption and walk through its moat sources.

They unpack Morningstar’s forecasts for the company’s AI spending, revenue, and margins, and explain how Romanoff arrives at a $600 fair...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss why stock investors should learn how to tell the difference between signal and noise when evaluating investments. They review examples of both and cover how, over time, noise can become signal. Tune in to find out what resources investors can use to discern signal from noise, why an SEC-proposed change to company reporting may make it more difficult to tell the difference, and whether artificial intelligence is more noise or more signal.

They wrap up with 3 misunderstood stocks to buy because investors...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski recap last week’s market performance considering new developments in the Iran War. They cover why US investors should watch the Japanese yen, if inflation reports could rattle markets this week, and what to listen for in the upcoming earnings reports from Applied Materials AMAT and Cisco CSCO. Tune in to find out if AMD, Palantir PLTR and ARM ARM look attractive after reporting earnings.

They discuss why Fortinet FTNT soared last week and brought other cybersecurity stocks along for the ride. Then un...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski cover the latest in the war and the market, the GDP print, and the Fed meeting. They update the stock barbell strategy heading into May. Key earnings releases this week include Advanced Micro Devices AMD and Fortinet FTNT; tune in to find out why. 

They reveal which of the big tech stocks—Alphabet GOOGL, Microsoft MSFT, Meta Platforms META, Amazon.com AMZN and Apple AAPL—look like stocks to buy after earnings. The episode wraps with three overvalued stocks to take profits in and t...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what’s on radar this week after the US stock market hit new highs, including the Fed meeting and inflation numbers. They’ll preview big tech earnings coming out this week from Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft and do a rapid-fire Q&A about what to watch for in the earnings for several other companies including Eli Lilly LLY and UPS UPS. 

Tune in to find out if Intel, ServiceNow or Tesla are stocks to buy after earnings—and whether it’s ti...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Susan Dziubinski talks with Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning Christine Benz. They touch on whether investors are a blind to market risk today or if they’re simply thinking long-term. They spend most of their time discussing portfolio construction—specifically, which asset classes to own, what role international stocks can play, and the types of bonds that work best for most investors. 

Benz shares some of her favorite funds and ETFs to include in an investment portfolio. They close with some rapid-fire questions about h...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the latest developments in the Iran war and what investors should be monitoring. The stock market hit new highs last week; the co-hosts cover what drove performance, whether the market still looks undervalued, and if investors are too complacent. They dig into the stunning rally in Intel’s stock this year and its price risk heading into earnings on Thursday. Tune in to find out what companies to keep on your radar this week, hear Morningstar’s takeaways from big bank earnings, and find out...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host and Morningstar chief US market strategist Dave Sekera and Morningstar chief US economist Preston Caldwell share their new outlooks for the market and the economy. Tune in to find out whether the market is undervalued today, which sectors hold the best opportunities, and what stocks make Morningstar analysts’ top picks list. Sekera also explains why he thinks a value-growth barbell strategy can win in 2026 and how to execute it. 

Caldwell covers when he expects GDP growth to reaccelerate, why worries about the K-shaped economy are overdone, and how...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski unpack the stock market’s response to the US-Iran cease fire and discuss how investors should be thinking about their portfolios as uncertainty persists. They preview earnings season and what to watch for in big bank earnings from JPMorgan Chase JPM, Bank of America BAC, and Citigroup C this week. 

Tune in to find out if Johnson & Johnson, ASML, Taiwan Semiconductor and Netflix are stocks to buy ahead of earnings and whether Veeva Systems’ competitive advantages are likely to be eroded by AI. They...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the market’s response to new developments in the Iran war. They speculate what the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy may be for the rest of the year and whether this week’s inflation reports will drive more market volatility. They explain why Anthropic’s Mythos model only makes cybersecurity stocks more attractive and whether the worst is behind for Nike. Tune in to find out if Carnival or McCormick are stocks to buy after making news last week.

Small-cap stocks have hel...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what economic and earnings reports to keep an eye on during this shortened trading week. Chewy’s stock skyrocketed after earnings last week; tune in to find out if the stock is a buy after the runup. They examine market valuations heading into the second quarter, revealing whether now is the time for investors to increase their exposure to US stocks. They also unpack which investment styles look most attractive today, as well as which sectors to take profits in and which sectors to in...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the market’s latest response to the ongoing war in Iran and explain what oil futures are telling investors. They unpack what’s going on in fixed income globally and whether the worst is yet to come in the private credit market. Tune in to find out just how big Morningstar’s fair value increase is on Micron after earnings and what drove an upgrade in Nvidia’s fair value, too. 

Speaking of fair value changes, the co-hosts answer a viewer question about why...

Today on The Morning Filter podcastwe’re bringing you a bonus episode from another Morningstar podcast: Investing Insights. Every Friday, host Ivanna Hampton sits down with investment experts across Morningstar to discuss their latest research. 

On this episode: The stock market has cooled on stocks caught up in the whirlwind of artificial intelligence. Fears over whether AI will disrupt a variety of sectors have triggered big sell-offs. Morningstar equity analysts have investigated 132 companies to determine whether that’s the case. They have concluded that AI is not a universal destroyer. The team thinks investors should sort through the wrecka...

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Dave Sekera talks with Morningstar senior analyst Malik Ahmed Khan about cybersecurity stocks. They discuss which cybersecurity segments are driving the industry’s growth and whether consolidation will play out in the industry. Tune in to find out what key risks the industry is facing today—and why AI isn’t one of them.

They unpack what it takes for cybersecurity companies to carve out economic moats and why so many of them earn wide economic moat ratings from Morningstar. They cover key differentiators among the biggest cybers...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what the oil futures chain is telling investors today and the impact an extended conflict could have on the consumer, the economy, and Fed policy. They also cover what to watch for from this week’s Fed meeting and why to watch Micron Technology’s earnings. They unpack new research from Morningstar about AI disruption and economic moats and walk through economic moat downgrades on Adobe ADBE, Salesforce CRM, and ServiceNow NOW. Tune in to find out why Microsoft’s economic moat looks AI resili...

In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the impact the war in Iran has had on the markets so far and how a prolonged conflict could impact inflation and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate stance. They cover what the war means for oil stocks, defense stocks, and other industries. On the earnings front, they unpack results from Okta OKTA and Marvell Technology MRVL and dissect Morningstar’s upgrade on Crowdstrike. Is now a back-up-the-truck moment for Broadcom’s stock? Tune in to find out.

They answer a viewer’s question...